Sermon for the Commemoration of St. Titus and Sanctity of Life Sunday

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Thou Hast Desired Thy Life for Man”

Text: Titus 1:1-9; Luke 10:1-9; Acts 20:28-35

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thy Word meant life triumphant hurled

In splendor through Thy broken world

Since light awoke and life began

Thou hast desired Thy life for man (LSB #834 v. 1).

Thou hast desired Thy life for man. It’s hard for me to think of a better way to encapsulate what God is all about than that. Thou hast desired Thy life for man. God wants us to have life. Physically and spiritually. And everything He does is for that. And sometimes, it seems, everything we do is against that. Abusing life, taking life, embittering life, pitting my life against your life. And we see the results on the news every night. We see the results in our neighborhoods and even in our own homes. And yet we know what we see is just the tip of the iceberg.

Because . . . Our fatal will to equal Thee,

Our rebel will wrought death and night,

We seized and used in prideful spite

Thy wondrous gift of liberty.

We housed us in this house of doom,

Where death had royal scope and room . . . (v. 2)

We housed us in this house of doom. It’s hard for me to think of a better way to encapsulate what we’ve done with the gift of life God has given us. We turned a world of life and light into a house of doom and death and night. Now you understand why Adam and Eve hid and trembled in fear. And it would still be that way - no, it is still that way! - apart from Christ. When we live apart from Christ, when we act apart from Christ, when our rebel and selfish will still exerts itself, we don’t improve things. Our lives or the lives of others. There is just more death, more destruction, more division, more hurt, more brokenness, more fear. We shouldn’t be surprised when we see it in our world, this house of doom.

But something changed. 

Yes, We housed us in this house of doom . . . 

Until Thy servant, Prince of Peace, 

Breached all its walls for our release.

Thou camest to our hall of death,

O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air, 

To drink for us the dark despair

That strangled our reluctant breath (vs. 2-3).

We’re being strangled. What a picture of sin! Sin isn’t harmless! Sin isn’t fun. Sin puts its evil fingers around your neck, and squeezes the life out of you. Like what you see in horror movies. And the harder you fight, the harder it squeezes. Until Christ came. Until the Son of God came to a frightened and dying Adam and Eve and gave them a promise of life. Until He came in our flesh and blood, into our hall of death, to breathe our poisoned air, to join us in our sin and break it. Break out of it. So this house of doom would not be our end, our doom, our grave. But there be life again. So He was strangled, the very Son of God, on the cross, captive, for our release. For light instead of night. For hope instead of fear. For forgiveness instead of condemnation. For life instead of death. So yes, . . .

How beautiful the feet that trod

The road that leads us back to God!

How beautiful the feet that ran 

To bring the great good news to man (v. 3)!

And yet one more thing was necessary . . .

O Spirit, who didst once restore

Thy Church that it might be again 

The bringer of good news to men . . . (v. 4)

And this is where the second half of this special day comes in, for this is not only Sanctity of Life Sunday, but the Commemoration of St. Titus. A pastor, a preacher to bring this good news to men. The good news of a Saviour who is not a law giver but a life giver. 

Titus was not one of the Apostles - he was among the next generation, those appointed by the Apostles to continue their work. To preach Jesus, to preach His life that is for ALL people. No exceptions. From babies in the womb to hardened criminals on death row, Jesus died for all that all may live. That YOU may live. Because you’ve laid a few bricks in the wall and helped build our house of doom yourself. You know it. Maybe you’ve taken a life, hurt someone, embittered them, caused division, wreaked destruction, broke a relationship, a marriage, a friendship, induced fear. But Jesus breached those walls, provided the way back to God and to life, and the Spirit in the Church now proclaims this is the way. This is the way back to life. To forgiveness and healing. 

And Titus was one of those who did that. And if you want some confirmation that this good news is for ALL people, look no farther than Titus, for Paul, as we heard, left him in Crete. Now, maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it was. For we learn just a few verses after those we heard today, that according to one of their own people, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Titus didn’t get the cherry assignment, among the elite and good people and in the comfortable and affluent suburbs! Quite the opposite, in fact. But Cretan lives mattered, because ALL lives matter to Jesus. And, Paul said, raise up more men to serve as elders - which means pastors - in every town. So that everyone can hear, everyone can know, everyone can live. But it won’t be easy . . .

Which is what Jesus said to His disciples when He sent them out two-by-two, as we heard in the Gospel. He said, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. And as you know, lambs don’t fare well against wolves! Except one. One Lamb went up against the wolf, and won. Yes, He got chewed up. He still has the nail holes and scars to prove it. But those nail holes and scars are on a body that is not dead, but very much alive and giving life. Still snatching victims from the jaws of the wolf to live again. Healing their wounds with His forgiveness, restoring them in the waters of Baptism, and nourishing them with that same Body and Blood the wolf couldn’t consume. Now He wants to be consumed by us! Not for His death but for our life. 

So while Paul told the Ephesian pastors that It is more blessed to give than to receive, we must first receive in order that we may give. 

So . . . O Spirit . . . Breathe on Thy cloven Church once more,

That in these gray and latter days

There may be those whose life is praise,

Each life a high doxology

To Father, Son, and unto Thee (v. 4).

Breathe on Thy cloven Church. Kind of a spiritual CPR. That as God breathed life into Adam in the beginning, so the Spirit would breathe good air, healthful air, pure air into us, that alive again with Christ and His life, our lives be lives of praise and service, and of giving, supporting, and sustaining life. That the life we live, as Paul told the Galatians (ch. 2), is His life, given to us. And receiving that life, we can now give with that life. Giving of ourselves, our time and effort and love. And we can do so because you will never be able to out-give God. 

Think about what we heard in the Gospel today. Jesus sends out His disciples and tells them to take nothing with them! They would have to trust and rely completely on God to provide for their every need. Even as lambs in the midst of wolves. And they were not disappointed. It wasn’t easy. But God is faithful.

As He is for us. It is not easy being a Christian in this world. It is not easy to live your faith in a world which thinks your faith is ridiculous. It is not easy to be pro-life in a world which wants to control life for its own ends. A world where I get to decide when I have children and how. A world where I get to live my life however I want. A world where I get to end my life whenever and however I want. A world where I can end the life of another if I don’t want them or they get in my way. And a world which thinks all this is meet, right, and salutary. Gray and latter days indeed!

But God has sent His Son and breathed on us His Spirit and given us life. What you do with that life now is the question. Are you going to continue the old or live the new? When you come into someone’s life, is it MY kingdom has come near you, so you can serve me, help me, promote me! Or when you come into someone’s life, has the Kingdom of God has come near to you? So I can serve you, help you, promote you. And if you find yourself like Titus, in the midst of a bunch of Cretans! Is that bad or good? Bad for you, or an opportunity for you to show them a better way. To tell them this is the way out. To live a life of doxology - of praise to the One who has given you life. No, it’s not going to be easy. You may find yourself out in the cold - metaphorically, or literally as we were on Friday! But if every life - including YOUR life! - matters to Jesus, then every life must also matter to us. From the womb to the tomb. 

That’s the path Jesus trod, from the womb of Mary to the tomb of Joseph. And every place He went there was life. And now that One’s here today for you and your life. Not in a womb or a tomb but on this Altar. To raise you and strengthen you and nourish you to live. To forgive you and breathe into you. To heal you and restore you. That you walk out those doors today with His life, a life of high doxology. That no matter what division, destruction, brokenness, or death you encounter, in you, the Kingdom of God comes near it with life. And while you might just seem like one little, helpless lamb in the midst of a multitude of wolves, remember this: the Lamb won. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

No sermon to post today as we were blessed to have Chaplain Michael Sneath as our guest pastor today while Pastor Douthwaite was away at our District Convention. Click here to watch his preachment on the recording of our livestream.

Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Come Hell or High Water . . .”

Text: Isaiah 43:1-7; Romans 6:1-11; Luke 3:15-22; Psalm 29:11

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

It is impossible to turn on the TV or go on the computer without hearing of the wildfires in California and seeing the sad and devastating pictures. People who hadn’t even put away their Christmas decorations now have no decorations to put away. There are gifts that never got to be used, and maybe some still in their packages that will now never be opened. Men and women who have just returned to work now have no home to return to anymore, and children who didn’t want to go back to school have now no school to go back to. And it’s not over yet. The winds are still feeding the flames that are still raging and consuming.

It’s sad and it’s shocking, but the truth is, we’ve seen this before. Many times actually. And not all that long ago. It was just a few months back that hurricanes and floods wiped out islands and communities in Florida and North Carolina. Tornados do the same thing in Tornado Alley, taking out everything in their path. Earthquakes reduce cities to rubble, tsunamis wipe out entire islands . . . Maybe this one is different because of its duration, maybe because of its extent, maybe because many think it was preventable - unlike many natural disasters. Perhaps. That judgment is above my pay grade.

But I do know that some people will turn away from God because of this. They will accuse Him of wrong. How could He do this? How could He allow this? Why didn’t He stop it? Others will point an accusing finger at the victims - that this is God’s payback for their sins. Well, no. People tried that at the time of Jesus, too, when Pilate slaughtered some worshipers and when the Tower of Siloam fell on some Jews - but Jesus squashed that argument pretty quickly (Luke 13:1-5). 

Truth is, we don’t know why this happened. Oh, maybe we’ll find out earthly causes and factors. There will be investigations, as there should be. But all the “why” questions directed towards God . . . God doesn’t tell us the answers to all those questions. And He doesn’t have to. Which is frustrating, maybe. Wouldn’t you like to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the divine council and get the answers we want! But maybe it’s good that we don’t get to do that. Maybe there are some things we are better off not knowing. For instance, there are things our government knows that we don’t, things that are happening all over the world, that maybe if we knew would keep us up at night!

But instead of turning away from God at such a time as this, let us turn toward Him, and hear what He does have to say, like the words we heard today from the prophet Isaiah:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

And maybe our first reaction to hearing those words in our ears while seeing what we are seeing with our eyes is really? ‘Cause it sure doesn’t seem like it! Like You, God, are with us through the wind and water, the fire and flame. It feels like You couldn’t be farther away . . .

Isaiah wrote those words to the people of Israel whose nation, cities, and homes had been plundered, trampled, and reduced to rubble by the Babylonians, and some of them taken into slavery. And we know why God did that, at that time. Because He told us. It was because of the idolatry, unfaithfulness, and wickedness of His people. 

But with these words, God makes them promises. He hasn’t utterly abandoned them. Instead, He says, through all this, as bad as it may get, I will be with you. Because I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. That’s who He is, and who He will be. No. Matter. What. No matter what disaster or tragedy strikes on a state scale, a national scale, an earthly scale, or to you personally, in your life. That’s who He is, and who He will be. 

And notice what He doesn’t say: that the wind and water, the fire and flame would not destroy or consume our homes or property - they very well might. But they will not consume YOU. Our life and hope are not in the things of this world - or shouldn’t be. Our life and hope are with God our Saviour. Our home, too. And even when not just Los Angeles or California, but this entire world is destroyed, that will still be true. WE will not be destroyed. Because we belong to the one who redeemed us, who called us by His name, who died for us and rose for us, and promised us a home and life beyond the reach of all sin, evil, and even death. A home and life that nothing can take away.

And that gift is given you in Baptism. That’s when you passed through the waters, dying and rising with Christ, as Paul said today in the reading from Romans. That water that did not consume you, but saved you and gave you a new and eternal life. And John today spoke of being baptized not just with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. Cleansing fire, that. And he speaks of the unquenchable fire that Jesus will bring - which seems like the images we’ve been seeing, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’ll be worse. When on the Last Day, the chaff will be burned up. All who are not in Christ. 

But even now, perhaps there is chaff in our lives that needs to be consumed . . . Everything we think will last, everything we’ve built for ourselves in this world, everything in this world we rely on and turn to for meaning, security, and life. Things that do not last and cannot give us what we need. The people in California are not worse sinners than us, but what we are seeing should remind us of how fragile this world and our life is. To hold onto the things of this world a little more loosely, and hold onto Christ and His Word a lot more tightly. For everything HE builds will last. And that what matters is not a house on the beach, living in the most desirable neighborhood, or the number of commas in your net worth - it’s being a child of God.

It is the waters of Baptism that protect us from the floods of this world. It is the cleansing fire of the Spirit that protects us from the fires of this world. It is the forgiveness given us here that protects us from the sins that rage in us and in the world. It is the life given us here that will last, not the lives we make for ourselves. And our salvation and confidence is not in rescue workers, fire hydrants that have water, government officials who make good and wise decisions, or having the insurance to rebuild - our salvation and confidence is in the God who is with us. The God whose birth with us we just celebrated. The God who was baptized with us, as one of us. And the God who died on the cross - with us and for us. His I will be with you was no empty - or easy - promise. But one that cost Him everything. 

And so our salvation and confidence is in the one who passed through the waters of baptism with us, and took the fire of God’s wrath against our sin on the cross, and who was consumed! But who then rose from the ashes of death to life again. And that’s why we will rise from the ashes - the ashes of this world, or the ashes of our ruined lives, or ultimately the ashes of death. Rising not like a Phoenix, but as children of God. Children of the God who is with us.

When Isaiah wrote those words, the people of Israel still remembered when they had lost everything while slaves in Egypt, but also how God bought them through the waters - the waters of the Red Sea and then the Jordan - and saved them. They were not consumed. And now, they had lost everything to the Babylonians, but God promised to bring them through this, too - the flames of this persecution and destruction. They would not be consumed. 

And now, the beloved Son of God, with whom the Father is well pleased, makes the same promise to you. No matter what waters or fires are threatening you, what sins are eating you up, what persecution or trouble is weighing heavy upon you . . . you will not be consumed.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.

And now He who called you by name in Baptism, now calls you by name to His Supper, where He continues to be with us, His Body and Blood to feed us, forgive us, strengthen us, and save us. And when everything else in this world is destroyed - everything! - it will be His Body and Blood - His very same Body and Blood! - that will call us from the grave and take us home to life. To a heaven that is as open to us as the heavens were opened when Jesus was baptized.

The psalm that is assigned for this day, Psalm 29, we didn’t sing it today, but it concludes with these lines, appropriate also to conclude this sermon with:

May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

May the Lord give us strength - in the face of all that we see, when beset with sin and evil and fear, the strength to repent and the strength to believe. And may He bless us with peace - when the waters come, when the fires come. The peace that comes only by faith and the forgiveness of our sins. The peace of knowing that come hell or high water, 

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.

In these gray and latter and uncertain days, may the Lord give us such strength, and such peace. In Him. The God who is with us. The Prince of Peace. The King of creation. The Lord of life. Your Father and Saviour.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Not Separate, and More than Equal - One”

Text: Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

I don’t know what things were like where you were, but on Friday afternoon the weather changed quite suddenly, dramatically, and unexpectedly at my house. One moment things were calm, and the next a high wind came from out of nowhere and the snow was so heavy it seemed to be coming down in sheets being blown down the street. Almost like a winter derecho blowing through my neighborhood.

Which I think is how the Jewish Christians must have felt when they heard the message of St. Paul that we heard today. And specifically when he said to the Ephesians, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Now we’re used to hearing words like that and teaching like that, so it probably doesn’t have the impact on us now as it did back then. But those words and that teaching was like a derecho blowing through the Jewish Christian community. For to say fellow heirs, same body, partakers of the promise, this was a teaching above and beyond anything they had heard before.

Not that the Jewish Christians didn’t know that Jesus died for all people. They did. But it was more like, to borrow a phrase from our own history, separate but equal. In the Old Testament, Gentiles could become Jews if they wanted, be circumcised and follow the laws of Moses. But they still weren’t descended from Abraham. These Gentile believers could worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, but only so far - only to the Court of the Gentiles. And yes, Jesus had gone among the Samaritans just as He had among the Jews, and at least they were part Jewish . . . but they were still Samaritans. But being of Jewish origin, being descended from Abraham, was still a big deal, still mattered to them. 

So when Paul writes to the Ephesians what he had been preaching in all his missionary journeys, this mystery of Christ that he was making known, he’s saying: Fellas, it’s not separate but equal! The Gentiles (and by that he means anyone not descended from Abraham), the Gentiles are fellow heirs, which means they get the same inheritance that we do. Nothing different; no distinction! And members of the same body, which means not just unity, but oneness; not with different blood but with the same blood flowing through us. And partakers of the promise, that although not descended from Abraham, the promise made to Abraham and passed down through the generations they get a share of too! Those words, that teaching, was mind blowing. 

But don’t just imagine the violent reaction the Jews who didn’t believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah must have had to those words! Or the shock the Jewish Christians must have felt. Imagine the joy of the Gentiles! To hear not only of a Saviour, but that separate but equal was not a thing with Him! That His inheritance, His kingdom, is for all people. That His blood was not only shed for all people, but all would together receive it in the Sacrament, standing or kneeling not separately, but side-by-side. And that all the promises, all the gifts, all the grace, is for them, too.

You can imagine the derecho this was blowing through the early church!

And we see it already with the story of the Wise Men. They are such an treasured part of the Christmas story, and our nativity scenes would be missing something without them. But maybe we need to appreciate them and what they add to our nativity scenes even more, and not just lump them together with the shepherds as visitors to see Jesus, but realize how important it was to God that they be there. As witnesses and testimony to this truth of St. Paul and all that Jesus had come to do.

Now, we don’t know much about these Wise Men; they come and go quickly. But God worked pretty hard to get them there! First, the seed of His Word was planted among them some time before this, maybe during the time of His people’s exile in Babylon. Then the star - to signal them and lead them to Jesus, that, as Isaiah said, they Arise [and] shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Then the prophecy of Micah, and the testimony of the Chief Priests and Scribes to direct the Wise Men to Bethlehem. And then the appearance of the star again . . . No wonder that when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy! And the Greek there actually says with extreme mega joy! What would be the equivalent of that kind of joy today? I’m not sure. A joy that just can’t be contained. A joy that makes nothing else matter.

No wonder they not only brought but gave Him such costly gifts.

So Jewish shepherds, Gentile Wise Men, fellow heirs, members of the same body, and both alike partakers of the promise. That’s an epiphany! A revelation of how great and comprehensive this child and His work is. Like nothing ever seen or done before.

And now you are part of it, too. As I said before, we’re used to hearing this, so maybe the impact on us isn’t so great as it should be. But think about all the places you can’t go in this world, places you are barred from. Think about all the people who think you less than them, somehow below them, and that you will always be. Think about all the divisions and separations and rankings in our world - not all of which are bad - but that exist. And realize that in Jesus, there is none of that. All of us alike are baptized because all of us need to be. In the Old Testament it was the flesh that was cut OFF that mattered. But now with Jesus it is the flesh that is put ON that matters. That He put on our flesh to redeem us, and that in baptism we now put ON Christ. And now all of us together are fellow heirs, members of the same body, all alike partakers of the promise. No matter who you are or where you are from or what you have done in the past. Jesus’ birth and death and resurrection has overcome all that.

Which also means that when you come up to the altar to receive that same Body and Blood that the Son of God put on and the Wise Men fell down before and worshipped, you do so not as individuals, all separate, all on your own, but together. As one. Rich and poor, men and women, old and young, white collar or blue collar, black, brown, white, red, or yellow skin, all of us standing side-by-side, no one better than another, and all receiving the same gift - the same Body and Blood, the same forgiveness and life, the same inheritance and salvation. It is a marvelous thing to witness, something that happens in very few, if any, other places in the world. This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Which, you know, I say every week after reading the words of the Gospel. To which you respond, as you did this morning, Praise be to Thee, O Lord. But why? Why do you say that? Is it for the words just heard? Certainly. But even more, for the Gospel Jesus has done. That all of us are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and all alike partakers of the promise.

So let’s treat each other that way. I think we do sometimes. I think we don’t sometimes as well. There are distinctions that are meet, right, and salutary, but others that aren’t. There are things that need to be pointed out and dealt with, like false teaching and unholy living, but we shouldn’t delight in the faults and failings of others. Are we as free and generous with the forgiveness we give as we are with the forgiveness we expect? Are we quick to criticize and slow to reconcile? Do we ignore instead of pay attention, and disregard instead of spending time with or for someone? And what else do we need to repent of? How else we do not see and treat each other as fellow heirs, member of the same body, and partakers of the promise?

God wanted the Wise Men there with His Son, and in the same way He wants all of you here today with His Son. He has brought you here, and for some of you, worked very hard to do so! Just like He did with the Wise Men. Because He wants to give you gifts! He wants you to hear those words of forgiveness. He wants you to hear all that He has done for you. And He wants you to receive the Body and Blood of His Son. All of you! That like the Wise Men, you rejoice with extreme mega joy! And not just at Christmas, but all year round and all your life. 

So the story of the Wise Men is not just an important part of the Christmas story, but an important part of our salvation story. And a perfect way to transition from the Christmas season now ending, to the Epiphany season now beginning. And just as the appearance of the Wise Men and Paul’s teaching about the Gentiles was like a derecho blowing through the early Church, maybe it can be for us again as well. Not just blowing OUT the sin that has settled into our hearts and lives, in the distinctions and separations we make, and how we treat each other, but also blowing IN the gifts and grace of God, and a renewed appreciation of Christmas, of Epiphany, and all that Jesus has done for us. And that’s the kind of thing that can change a family, a church, a world. It did in the early Church. And it still can. And so be an epiphany not just within these walls, or for a day or a season, but an epiphany for the world, for life, and for all. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.